Children in particular will be captivated by Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre’s high-flying revival of the 20th-century Broadway classic (and perennial TV favorite) Peter Pan.

For adults, the biggest reasons to catch Candlelight’s latest are the nostalgia it is sure to evoke, its memorable score, and above all Mr. Gavin Juckette’s star turn as the boy (emphasis on boy) who refused to grow up.

What sets the 1954 Broadway stage adaptation apart from others inspired by Sir J.M. Barrie’s 1904 original are its tuneful songs (about 70% with music by Morris “Moose” Charlap, the other 30% by Jule Styne) and their clever, funny lyrics (by Carolyn Leigh with additional lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green).

Jerome Robbins, not yet the Broadway legend he was later to become, not only directed and choreographed Peter Pan when it made its mid-‘50s debut, he adapted Barry’s play, sticking closely to the Edwardian-era original, which for today’s audiences means not nearly as many laughs as we’ve come to expect from family fare since Disney’s Beauty And The Beast introduced jokes specifically intended to tickle adult funny bones even as they whoosh over kiddies’ heads.

Not that there aren’t any laughs once Peter, Wendy (Valerie Rose Lohman), John (Andrew Bar), and Michael (Asher Broberg) have arrived in Neverland to be greeted not just by Lost Boys Curly (Seann Altman), Slightly Soiled (Grayson J. Smith), Tootles (Jacob Rushing), and Twins #1 (Ryan Watson) and #2 (Aaron Caldarone), but by the zaniest of pirate bands–James McGrath as Noodler, Jackson Marcy as Starkey, Cody Bianchi as Cecco, and Jeffrey Bonser as Bill Jukes–led by dastardly Captain Hook (Randy Ingram) and his comic sidekick Smee (Thomas Stanley).

“I’ve Gotta Crow,” “I’m Flying,” and “I Won’t Grow Up” have become such Broadway/TV standards that it’s nearly impossible to resist the temptation to sing along, and there’s nothing quite like the thrill of seeing Peter and the Darling children take flight (suspended thanks to ZFX, Inc. from the thinnest of cords, though not doing any of the somersaults audiences got to “ooh” and “aah” at in Peter Pan’s most recent National Tour).

Performances under John LaLonde’s assured direction could hardly be finer beginning with Juckette’s magical, magnetic Peter, inspired casting that requires far less suspension of disbelief than a 40something Mary Martin or the female stars (chief among them Sandy Duncan and Cathy Rigby) who followed in her flight path.

Not only does Juckette (on a roll this year following Candlelight’s Titanic and IVRT’s Big Fish) invest Peter with oodles of boyish spunk and abundant charm, he sings Peter’s songs in a resonant tenor as they’ve rarely been sung before.

Ingram makes for a delectably villainous Captain (his lament that whenever children play at Peter Pan, “they make the baby play Hook” is a particular delight) in addition to appearing (in time-honored tradition) as Wendy, John, and Michael’s by-the-book Victorian father opposite Francesca Sola’s warmly maternal Mrs. Darling (later returning as a perky teenage Jane), with Abigail Somera’s feisty Liza and McGrath’s canine nurse Nana completing the Darling household.

Stanley’s wacky Smee guarantees laughs every time he gets whacked, with Lohman’s enchanting Wendy, Bar’s spirited John, and Broberg’s simply adorable Michael earning audience affection from the get-go.

Pirates and Lost Boys show off triple-threat talents each and every one as do Amaris Griggs (a fierce Tiger Lily) and her political-correctness-be-damned band of pig-tailed Indian maidens (Sarah Bloom, Annie Hinskton, Shelby Monson, Emily Relph, and Somera), and never more so than when executing choreographer Kirklyn Robinson’s quirky, athletic moves. (That being said, “Ugh-A-Wug” proves nowhere near “the most spectacular eight minutes of dancing you will witness this or any year” I described in previous Patti Colombo-choreographed Peter Pans.)

Chuck Ketter scores major production design points for his storybook sets, in particular the most magical of Neverlands, design credits shared with Aspen Roger’s vibrant Technicolor lighting, Mark Gamez and The Theatre Company’s period/quirky costumes, and Michon Gruber-Gonzales’s character-establishing wigs, with puppetry design provided by Stage Monkey Design and some energetic comic fight choreography by Matt Merchant.

Last but not least, musical director Douglas Austin elicits terrific vocal performances from the entire Peter Pan cast, performed to almost-live prerecorded tracks.

Caleb Shiba is stage manager. Jonathan Daroca is lighting associate. Nick Galvan is sound engineer.

Despite its old-fashioned book (at least when compared to contemporary Disney/Pixar family favorites like Aladdin, Shrek, and The Little Mermaid), there’s plenty to entertain even grown-ups in the latest from Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre. Still, if ever there were a Candlelight show to bring the kids to, Peter Pan is the one.

Candlelight Pavilion, 455 W. Foothill Blvd., Claremont.
www.candlelightpavilion.com

–Steven Stanley
July 21, 2019
Photos: James Suter

Tags: Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre, Carolyn Leigh, Los Angeles Theater Review, Morris "Moose" Charlap, Sir J.M. Barrie